


Two Sides Of A Coin

by SapphyreLily



Series: MatsuOi Week 2017 [5]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, MatsuOiWeek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-14
Updated: 2017-04-14
Packaged: 2018-10-20 21:58:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10671597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphyreLily/pseuds/SapphyreLily
Summary: MatsuOi Week Day 5 - Over The Years & SupportOne light and one dark, working in sync; born to be partners, always watching and supporting each other.





	Two Sides Of A Coin

**Author's Note:**

> This is loosely based on Plus One by Elizabeth Fama.

The first time they meet is when they are barely a month old, but at that age, no one remembers much.

It is a quiet ceremony, as it is with all monthlings, picked from their cribs and swapped.

“I accept this babe, born into Darkness, to be raised in the Light.”

“I accept this child, born of Light, to be raised as Dark.”

Their handlers pass them, hand over hand, until they are in opposing arms, to be taken to opposing realms.

“I take this child, first named Tooru, now labelled Oikawa, into the blackness of Night.”

“I take the babe, presently named Issei, now christened Matsukawa, as my heir in Day.”

The handlers bow to each other, bow to the council, and exit their opposite ways.

\-----

The next time they meet, they are slightly older.

At two, everyone is allowed to meet their other half, the one who will represent them, and carry on their tasks in the other half of the day.

They look curiously at each other, before one of them looks away, hiding his face in his handler's sleeve. The handlers laugh, and coo at them, trying to get them to face each other.

The one who didn’t look away reaches out, patting the other's arm, and he looks up to swat his hand away.

The one who got hit looks taken aback for a moment, before he reaches forward again.

They go back and forth in this way until one of them tires and starts crying – their handlers look alarmed, bid each other a quick goodbye and leave.

\-----

The following time they are allowed to meet, they are four, almost ready for formal schooling, and need to learn their places in the world.

Their handlers bring them together and step back, waiting for them to interact.

But both are shy, and though their handlers push them forward, they hang back, looking up uncertainly.

It is only when someone else runs along – two someones – that they begin to open up, and only because the other two drag them into conversation.

“Matsu! Come play!”

“Tooru, are you coming or not?”

They break nervous eye contact then, whispering to their friends, trying to get them to understand.

“Hana, go first. That’s my Night.”

“Hajime-chan, wait for me! I need to say hi to my Day but I don’t wanna.”

Hana huffs and looks over to the other pair. “That’s _my_ Night, and he’s nice! Let’s play together!”

A disapproving _tut_ from behind them makes Hana turn and pout. “Yeah, yeah. No _consorting_ with the Nights.”

“If Matsukawa hurries with his duties, he’ll come play. Move along, Hanamaki.”

Hanamaki nods slowly, but his eyes glitter mischievously. In a second, he has grabbed Matsukawa’s hand, and pulls him forward. “Come on. More time to play if you finish early!”

Matsukawa whines and tries to pull away, but he can see the Nights coming towards them as well, Hanamaki’s Night pulling his Night along.

Then they are face to face, shoved in front of each other by their friends, forced to stand and look each other eye-to-eye.

His Night speaks first, cautiously stuttering out a _Hello._

He manages to repeat it, though his words are stilted, and even manages to include his name.

At the urging of their friends, they exchange a quick handshake, little fingers slick with sweat.

Behind them, their handlers smile.

\-----

At thirteen, they are subjected to their society’s ways, given roles that support and complement each other.

A Day’s work is only as good as the preparation done by his Night, and it is something Matsukawa learns quickly, when he sees that his fellow Days do not do as well in their assigned jobs.

He’d like to say that he doesn’t take it for granted, but he does, at first, when he angers the patrons and leaves without apology.

When he comes in to his work assignment the following day, he can barely keep up, for all the preparation has not been done, and he has to make do on his own.

It is only when he finds a hastily scrawled note in the pocket of his apron does he realise why.

\-----

“Oi, Hanamaki.”

“Hmm?”

“Did you know the Nights are punished for our mistakes?”

“Yeah? I got Iwaizumi in trouble once, and he never let me forget it. Came by early in the morning and nearly beat me up for it.”

“Wha– Isn’t that against the rules?”

“Breaking and entering into a Day’s home? Yeah, he’s got ten extra years of service now.”

“Then why the heck would he do it?”

Hanamaki shrugs. “If we do our jobs right, then neither of us will get a black mark. No marks, no punishment, and maybe they’ll let us go from the bond earlier.”

Matsukawa thinks about that.

“You’ve got a good point.”

\-----

The next time he finds a note in his apron, it says _Thanks for trying but the dishes look awful. Let me do the washing, you just be nice to the patrons._

He grins slightly, tucking the note into his pocket.

Now _that_ , he could do.

\-----

The funny thing about their society is in how it’s run: if you were swapped at birth, one day, you have to go back.

Unless you get punished too often, and extend your sentence.

\-----

At twenty-one, Matsukawa and Oikawa are released from service, and as it was on the day they were swapped, they stand before the council, before their handlers, and say their vows of exchange.

“I thank you for the time spent preparing my path for me, teaching me humility in my service.”

“I thank you for the opportunity to prove myself in aiding you, for now I understand and do not take for granted the tasks you will do for me.”

“I hereby take my place in Night, where I was born to be, and will serve you well as long as is needed.”

“I henceforth step into my role in Day, reclaiming my position, with my thanks in preserving my place.”

They lift their sigils from their bodies – a ring for Day, a chain for Night – swapping them hand over hand as they rotate, until their backs face the realm they are to return to. They bow briefly, slipping their symbols on, then turn to face the council.

“Thank you for your service to Day and Night,” the head councilman booms. “You may have one request.”

They glance at each other, and back away. Matsukawa remains impassive, for it is not a Night's place to speak.

“Sir, we request a month of acclimatisation.”

The council breaks into murmurs, and the head raises his brows. The noise extends, swelling into incredulous shouts, before he raises a hand, and they are silenced.

“Explain.”

“A month where we work together, sire. Every alternate day, I will go to Night and assist Matsukawa in learning his place, and he will come to Day and show me how to serve.”

The council takes up their muttering again, but it is muted, now. It is not an unreasonable request – simply unusual.

Matsukawa stands quietly, but his palms are sweating, and he doesn’t dare to wipe them on his pants. It is a nervous habit he never lost, but all his Day training reminds him to keep still. He can see Oikawa fidgeting from the corner of his eye, and wants to smile.

He needs to unlearn that Night habit.

Eventually, the council quietens, and the head councilman turns to them.

“Your request is approved. From the morrow, you will begin a rotation – one week spent in Day, one in Night, alternating until the month is over. You are expected to learn everything perfectly, and perform optimally when the month is over.

“You are dismissed.”

They bow again, and turn to their respective doorways, not looking back.

\-----

Iwaizumi is a weird fellow, but a decent friend.

“A month to learn your places? Huh. Never would’ve thought of it.”

“You're the weird one. You and Hanamaki just never want to go back.”

“Would you, though?” Iwaizumi stares him down. “Would you want to go to a completely different life, where everything is different, when you can stay in the one that you’re used to?”

He thinks about that. “Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

He shakes his head a little; laughs. “I’m too quiet to be a Day. I’m not suited for it. I don’t mind being here, but I just want to know how to not screw up things for Tooru.”

Iwaizumi is quiet, and he imagines that he is mulling over his words.

But instead he says, “’Tooru’, huh?”

Matsukawa throws a towel at him.

\-----

One month isn’t enough – it’s never enough. But it’s all they have, to get to know each other outside their notes, outside the tips shared in the bottom of a dirty apron, written on discarded order sheets.

One month isn’t nearly enough to press the knowledge of many years into another's head – but it’s a stepping stone, it’s a start.

One month is _almost_ enough for them to figure out a way to keep in touch, in ways that no one else can detect.

One month is everything they have – laughter and jokes and companionship, a deep fondness blossoming from where there were only vines before.

(One month is a secret shared, little endeavours, excursions and hide-aways, linking fingers and the quick press of lips. It is keeping mum, lying to their handlers, sneaking out and exploring, exploring.)

(Falling deep, but unwilling to swim the right way – up.)

But too soon, one month is up, and they are once again confined to their separate realms, this time for good.

\-----

“So, Oikawa.”

“Yes, Makki?”

“What’s it like, to become a Day?”

He thinks about that.

“Weird. But also like coming home. I was never supposed to be a Night, people don’t appreciate my social skills there.”

Hanamaki looks thoughtful, so he smiles and turns to put on his uniform.

Inside his pocket, a little piece of paper crackles, not yet worn to softness, its ink still stark and black.

_We’ll meet again someday._

_For real, forever._


End file.
